Wednesday, November 28, 2012

Another Naruto plush set from 2006, this time it says 'posing' on the tag, Banpresto. So glad that Yondaime is in this set! Banpresto used different materials again, though with stitched eyes.

Ehehe this is kind of cute, a fierce Naruto plush. I think the stitching detail is really clever.

Sasuke with his curse marks. They're not stitched, but I do think it looks better that way. You can even see it on his leg!

Shikamaru, finally! His pony tail isn't like Iruka's from the first set. It's just one piece of fabric sewn in a circle, so it's 'hollow' in the middle. What I think is really funny is that his hands aren't in pockets, they're just stuffed down his pants!

Kakashi... I really wish they did more with him in this set, especially since 'pose' is in the plush set title. Took a picture of his eye of course.

Yondaime / Minato. He looks fantastic!! Unlike Shikamaru, his hands are actually in sewn little pockets. I don't know why Minato had the extra attention, but there you have it.

Naruto's first raffle plush set! Usually the Ichiban Kuji sets are harder to find. In Japan you have to get a ticket and enter a raffle for kuji, unlike winning the plush in game machines at the arcade. The prizes go in tiers, with the largest/best prize being harder to get and less of them made.

For this set, Sasuke DX was the largest prize, then Kakashi, then the smaller 3. Inuyasha also had some kuji prizes, and I remember the DX Kagome is one of those plush that most collectors don't even know exists. I think this Sasuke may also fall into that category a bit.

For me, this is the perfect Sasuke plush. Amazing quality, looks great, and is suuuper big (12-15" ish). His boots aren't sewn on, and I'm pretty sure they can be wiggled right off of him.

Kakashi is not a DX, but he's bigger than regular plush size. Interesting how they made his mask a different material.

Naruto, looking cute! Though Sasuke's details are stitched, the rest of the set uses the iron on kind.

Another cute Sakura plush! So adorable. These plush are made to look a little more chibi/squat than most of the other sets.

Sasuke looking as he should, a little haughty and self confident.

The whole set together. Here you can really see the size difference. Isn't that Sasuke DX awesome? Not sure of pricing on these, need to research!

UPDATE: Looked up pricing and only found Sasuke and Naruto little ones for 3000Y/ea. I remember seeing Kakashi at one point for $55-65 but that was a while ago. I still haven't seen that Sasuke DX for sale.

The first Naruto plush set. Main characters won the honor in this set of 5, of course: Naruto, Sasuke, Kakashi, Sakura, Iruka. Banpresto, 2003.
I feel like this set is a bit odd, but not really. The eyes aren't sewn or iron-on like later sets, and the ninja shoes are a very different material than what is used later on.

In the weapons set, the scroll naruto holds on his back isn't just a decal, but it's still a nice touch. Standard Naruto, wasn't really expecting more or less.

Sasuke, looking much like he did in the beginning of the series. Bravo! Took an extra picture of his back so you can see his hands. In the first set the boots were this shiny-ish material and it was sewn on.
Ehehe grumpy Sasuke.

Sakura has inner Sakura! Remember that? It's been a while. Not really seeing Sakura much like this at the current state of the series, but it's nice to look back. The inner Sakura's hair was glued (which I hate that Banpresto does sometimes) as was the regular Sakura and over time it has separated into 2 pieces instead of one.

Iruka! I'm not sure why they made his pony tail all puffy, but I'm glad they did.

Kakashi. I like that he's got his book <3
Also I must say that I'm very glad the tags have a picture of the whole set. It's my favorite thing when that happens so you can see what the set consists of.

A full set shot. Not sure of the value of these, need to do more research.Sakura SOLD $35
Unfortunately all of these plush were damaged in my storage unit so they are now gone :-(

On to the Naruto plush sets! I believe this is the third set released for Naruto? Depends on if you count DX and Ichiban Kuji. The tag on this set says 'buki' which means 'weapon' in Japanese, so that's what I'm going with. The set was released in 2003 (a big year for Naruto plush it seems) by Banpresto, set of 5: Gaara, Rock Lee, Naruto, Sasuke, Sakura.

Naruto came out really cute in this set!! Banpresto changed the materials for the ninja shoes a few times, and this material seems to be the best in my opinion. I like the stitched eyes and details, he looks really good.

Sasuke came out well too! This whole set is great, really. The proportions work well for Sasuke on this plush.

Isn't this the cutest Sakura ever!? So cute!! >w< I love how her green eyes shine because of the stitching.

Rock Lee... so good I took 3 shots! I was so excited when this plush came out, he's so wonderful! Relatively dynamic for a plush as well, looking 2/3 to the side, feet angled, and his arm outstretched. Very cool, Lee! <3

The first Gaara plush. Again, so pleased with this set! I really like Gaara, huge gourd and all. So glad the symbol on his forehead is stitched and not ironed on!

Not sure of the pricing on these, I'll have to update when I've done more research.Naruto, Sakura, Gaara SOLD